A new set of lock gates has been installed at Ipswich’s wet dock at a cost of £2m.
The sizeable investment will support the activities of Ipswich Haven and Neptune marinas as well as the wider leisure and tourism sector in the town, said port owners Associated British Ports (ABP)
Work started on the contract 18 months ago and a series of reports and surveys were conducted to ensure the gates could be installed safely and efficiently, while minimising disruption to leisure and commercial users of Ipswich Wet Dock, said ABP.
MORE — Contractors set to work on historic port wallAndrew Harston, ABP Wales and short sea ports sirector, said: “We are delighted to have completed this project on schedule while fully adopting Covid-19 safe working procedures and we trust that this investment in new durable, high quality lock gates will help them fulfil their function for decades to come.
“I would like to thank our operations and maintenance teams who provided excellent support and assistance with electrical and hydraulics-related elements of the project, in order to ensure the efficient completion of the installation.”
The new dock gates consist of an outer and inner set of gates which regulate water in the wet dock, and maintain safe water levels in the Ipswich Haven and Neptune Marinas.
ABP commissioned Ravestein — a company which specialises in high quality, durable heavy steel constructions such as bridges and lock gates — to help carry out the works.
The new gates were delivered by barge to ensure there was no requirement for road transport and were accompanied by a floating crane which travelled from the Netherlands and which performed the removal of the old gates and installed the new ones.
Cees Ravestein, founder and director of Ravestein BV, said: “We are very happy to have achieved another successful on time installation of new replacement lock gates at Ipswich and would like to thank ABP for their part in an excellent working relationship.”
The upgrade follows a £370,000 repair to Ipswich’s New Cut river wall — bringing the total amount invested in enhancing port infrastructure in Ipswich to nearly £2.4m in the last three months.
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